This is exactly what Boston needs more of. In fact, remember some of the specifics of that infamous Rick Pitino quote:
“I wish we had $90 million under the salary cap. I wish we could buy the world. We can’t; the only thing we can do is work hard, and all the negativity that’s in this town sucks. I’ve been around when Jim Rice was booed. I’ve been around when Yastrzemski was booed. And it stinks. It makes the greatest town, greatest city in the world, lousy. The only thing that will turn this around is being upbeat and positive like we are in that locker room… and if you think I’m going to succumb to negativity, you’re wrong.”
This is actually from the legendary “not walking through that door” press conference when he was with the Celtics. I find that it relates to the current day Red Sox in a number of ways.
First, the salary cap. Maybe Pitino was right, but that defense doesn’t work over at Fenway. There isn’t a cap in baseball. Boston fans are now relegated to rooting for a bunch of overpaid, under-performing Sox players. That fact alone makes it difficult to remain positive. A team with a near $200M payroll shouldn’t have to put Kyle Weiland on the mound in the midst of a pennant race. Second, it’s the Red Sox, it’s Boston, it shouldn’t be all positive. Some level of negativity is what fueled Boston as a baseball town for a century. We need more of it right about now.
Something changed seven years ago.
*****
Make no mistake, this is not me railing against “pink hats” at all. I’ve been listening to Boston sports fans talk about the “pink hat” phenomenon since the first World Series. After 2004′s World Series win, things were going to change at Fenway. A whole new ticket buying fanbase was born. As someone who studies business, I understand this.
Some people can’t stand the whole pink hat thing. That hasn’t been my take — I embrace it. It has affording this Red Sox regime with the ability to spend to a near Yankee-level. That is why it should be a good thing.
Now, seven years later, this happy-go-lucky atmosphere must go.
An error by OF Darnell McDonald during Monday’s day game
The sense of urgency is gone. And it’s not just newer Sox fans are suffering from this complacency. It’s all of “Red Sox Nation”. And it starts at the top.
I tuned into the game last night on my drive home. On the broadcast, in a near must-win game, they are doing cute text message questions of the night. I don’t even thing the segment had a sponsor — so it wasn’t even a money grab. It was just to keep everyone “entertained”. This is as the team is about to flush the post season down the toilet, as if watching that isn’t entertaining enough…
On Monday during game one of the double header they had a guest in the booth promoting a charity. The charitable arm of the Red Sox is a great thing. However, this was just yet another microcosm of what is wrong over at Fenway. What is priority number one? Are we there to entertain people, raise money, or win ball games? Literally as they are talking about this charitable program, the Red Sox squandered several runs in an abysmal, error induced fashion.
*****
Last night the charade continued. The organization had a special guest in the clubhouse.
That’s the “Nature Boy” Ric Flair. You might say that this was a cool way to motivate the team. “Nay-ch” will give them a pep-talk and it will invigorate the team. That’d be fine. In that case, the Red Sox-owned NESN cameras should not be broadcasting it live. We should have heard about this after the fact. Airing it live completely takes the “coolness” away, and makes it nothing more than another PR stunt.
Some of this stuff can’t be cancelled or changed on the fly. If the Red Sox have an obligation to have someone in the booth, they might need to fulfill that. If they are going to pay a 62 year old former WCW champion tens of thousands of dollars to come shake hands; fine. However, lets talk “Sweet Caroline”. Again, I am not one of those “hardcores” who want to banish the song from Fenway. That said, should the celebratory song be played when the home team is losing an important September game?
There has to be a line.
*****
If the Red Sox don’t make the playoffs, or get bounced in the divisional round, heads must roll. But who? The owners are here to stay. Do they fire Theo? Franconia? I doubt it. They have earned carte blanche and it will remain that way.
Who else can you ax to make a statement? Booting Darnell McDonald, Jed Lowrie, or J.D. Drew isn’t going to do it. The team is also stuck with two high priced players (Lackey and Crawford) for the long haul. If the majority of the players can’t be turned-over, the organization must find another way to change the culture in the clubhouse. That will be their task this winter.
The EMC Club at Fenway Park
If people stop attending games there won’t be so much money to throw around to these charities and contracts. It’s not just the Crawford and Lackey contracts that fans should be mad at. Those ten dollar beers and fifty dollar sushi bills are paying for Eric Bedard and Kyle Weiland, too.
The Sox ownership clearly believes they can fill Fenway with people who have a “money is no object” attitude. And it’s clearly true, 700+ sellouts later, they can. That’s fine. However, the Sox front office better reciprocate here. If money is no object, you better tell me there were no better options out there than calling up no-name Weiland.
I am trying to hard not to root for a historic collapse.
This feels good. This is much, much better. This is what makes the greatest town, greatest city in the world, awesome. And I gotta go get a drink right now.
Rory is the Contributing Editor of OWS. He attended the University of Massachusetts in Amherst, and graduated with a BA in Economics. He is a current MBA candidate at Northeastern University in Boston. You can follow him on twitter and reach him via email at rorymcgrath [at] gmail.com.
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